Should I go down into the boot?

Posted by averymaria23 on 07/18/15 05:32 AM

Alright, so I'm going to be moving over to Paris for a bit, and while I'm there, I'll have a few chunks of time to take longer trips around. I have enough money to travel around for a bit, but it's not unlimited by any means so I want to make sure that I'm making the most worthwhile travel decisions. That said, I'm unsure on the Italy front. I've been to Rome and Florence before, and while Rome wasn't my favorite city, I did really love Florence.

For my future plans, Venice is definitely prominent, but I'm not sure where else I should travel. I feel like, having gone to Florence and Rome, if I also go to Venice, I'll have gotten a pretty good taste of Italy, but I don't want to make any assumptions and miss out on something. I do definitely want to pop by at least one of the really beautiful costal cities, but I know there's some in the North, so I'm wondering if I should just stick to the top of the country, or if there's something farther south that I really can't miss.

Posted by Laurel

Forest Grove, OR

07/18/15 06:26 AM

11852 posts

What do you like to do? Italy is more than its cities.

Puglia is lovely and has fantastic food, but it can be a challenge to travel in. Great beaches that are crowded in July and August.... We liked it in a May trip 2 years ago but were glad we had a car. Also check out Matera.

Sicilia is worthy of a 10 or more day trip.

Venezia is one of our favorite places and we go over and over. Nearby check our Ravenna, still on my to do list.

Liguria, including the Cinque Terre, has a lot of natural beauty and great food. Do you like outdoors/hiking?

Toscana, Umbria - rolling hills, green, agricultural, wine.... One really must visit outside of Firenze. Montacino, Volterra, Siena, Assisi, Spoleto, Cortona...the list goes on.

The mountains - the Dolomites - are incredible for natural beauty, outdoor activity, just riding lifts or buses or takign scenic drives.

Posted by averymaria23 OP

07/18/15 07:01 AM

5 posts

I do really love getting out into nature, but I think for this trip I'm trying to stick to cities and ruins. If there's something really spectacular nature wise that you've got to see, that's something I'd like to consider, but otherwise I think I'd prefer sticking to civilization. Of course, if there's cities that are in really scenic locations, that'd be great.

Posted by Harold

New York, NY, USA

07/18/15 03:59 PM

11294 posts

"I feel like, having gone to Florence and Rome, if I also go to Venice, I'll have gotten a pretty good taste of Italy, but I don't want to make any assumptions and miss out on something"

Italy is VERY regional, just as the US is. And, as Laurel says, there's big differences between cities, small towns, and rural areas. So, the first part of your statement is like saying "I feel like, having seen New York and Los Angeles, if I also go to Las Vegas, I'll have gotten a pretty good taste of the US." Sure, all of those places (in both the US and the Italy example) are very different from each other, but they are by no means a comprehensive view of the country. And I chose Las Vegas on purpose; just like LV, Venice is a unique place, not representative of anything other than itself.

I'm a firm believer that one should go to the places that call to you, when they call to you. So, if southern Italy doesn't excite you, skip it and see other places. You may get the desire to see it at another time, or it may just not be a place that interests you - and that's OK. Take the trip you want, not the trip you feel you "should" based on other people's interests.

A good start would be to watch some of Rick's Italy videos, which you can do on his website: http://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show. He doesn't have any shows covering mainland Italy south of Campania (the region with Naples, Sorrento, and the Amalfi Coast), and his Sicily show is almost 15 years old, but at least you can see a variety of regions and smaller towns. And if you're looking for big cities that are very different from Florence or Rome, try Milan or Turin. I enjoy both, but not everyone does, precisely because they're not the "Italy" that people expect.